Birgit Derntl

Birgit Derntl is Full Professor of Women's Mental Health and Brain Function at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen. She is a trained clinical and health psychologist, psychotherapist, and scientific member of the German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), where she co-leads the working group "Gender and Mental Health" together with Prof. Lenz (Mannheim).

She is also the spokesperson of the DFG-funded International Research Training Group IRTG 2804 "Women's Mental Health across the Reproductive Years," coordinating the training of early-career researchers, together with colleagues from the University of Tübingen and Uppsala University, Sweden.

Her main research interests lie in social and affective neuroscience, where she examines stress, empathy, emotion regulation, and the influence of sex hormones on the brain and behavior in people of all genders, including individuals with depression, autism, and schizophrenia. A particular focus is on women, investigating how the menstrual cycle, hormonal contraception, pregnancy, and menopausal transition — as well as associated stressors and disorders — affect the brain, behavior, and mental health. She has led multiple DFG-funded projects on sex-specific stress responses, starting vs. discontinuation of oral contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapy, and gender-affirming hormone therapy in trans individuals, consistently integrating sex and gender as key variables in experimental designs.